A Comforting Whisper
by dariablackstar
Summary: It's been a little over a year since Jamie died, and Landon is visiting New York City to pursue his newfound love of Classical Music. When he makes a date with Kathryn, a girl he bumps into on the street, he begins to have doubts about ever loving anyone


Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or original story of A Walk to Remember.  
  
When Landon breathed, a fog of his breath covered his face. It was frigid outside in the New York City air. He was visiting the city on a special trip. Since Jamie died last summer, he had developed a love for music, Classical music. She had always seemed to like the sweet sounds of the violin and harp, and that it reminded her of what heaven would be like. Landon always used to criticize her love for it and told her that it was just a bunch of old men who had boring lives with nothing else to do. Now, however, Mozart was his hero. Instead of becoming a doctor, he would rather attend Juliard and sacrifice financial stability for his new "art".  
  
He was walking down 5th Avenue admiring the new scenery, though it was brief due to the bustling crowds. His mother had always dreamed of visiting SAKS and Tiffany's, but it was he who was seeing them in person for the first time. While he looked up at the tall skyscrapers nearby, he found himself nearly knocking a young woman off her feet. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Let me get that! Oh, and I'll get you something to clean that off with..." he apologized when he noticed she had spilled her latte all over her shirt and dropped her books everywhere. He knelt down and clumsily gathered her belongings, and with an embarrassing expression, smiled. "Oh, that's OK, it's not your fault. I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm always in a hur-..." she paused when her eyes met his. "Hi, my name is Kathryn. Showing her pearly whites, she extended her hand for a shake. He gladly accepted the gesture, "Hi. I'm Landon by the way. You want me to take you're the Starbucks on the next block and help you clean that up?" She nodded her head and they began to walk off together, with her books still in his arms. Most would've thought it was love at first sight, but really Landon was just being a gentleman.  
  
When they reached the shop, he immediately grabbed some napkins from the dispenser to help Kathryn. Though he'd noticed her beautiful hazel eyes and sleek blonde hair, he never thought twice about this woman. She seemed to all starry-eyed, and some would've called it love-struck. She mindlessly wiped her azure shirt while staring at him. They chatted for a few minutes about simple personal information. He offered to buy her another latte sometime, and the next thing he knew, he had set a date and time. When Kathryn left the shop at almost a sluggish pace, she said to him, "See you then, it's a date!" As the door, letting in a chilly gust of wind, closed behind her, he thought to himself, 'What have I got myself into?'  
  
He had only set a coffee date that had nothing to do with romanticism and already he began to think about Jamie. It had only been a little over a year since he lost her, and it apparently wasn't long enough. The rest of the day, though he tried to enjoy the sights of the city, his mind would fall into memories of his first true love. Every time he closed his eyes, an image of her face would flash behind his lids, causing a lump in his throat to form. He was still in love with Jamie, and there was no way to forget about her just like that.  
  
Later that evening he arrived to his hotel room, a treat paid for by his father. It was fancy, and extremely expensive: The Plaza Hotel. Its luxuries were profound and infinite, but they didn't seem to satisfy his hunger for his beloved Jamie. She was gone and never coming back. In the confinement of this room, he could weep all he wanted and no one would know. Resisting the tears with all his strength, he finally broke down and cried like a wounded child. He would die of a broken heart, he knew, and no one would ever come along to mend it, or to fill the void Jamie left behind. His thoughts wandered to the school play when they first kissed, the night with the telescope, all the times he made her wishes come true, their joyful wedding, and then her... He didn't dare say that word in his mind. She was just temporarily absent until he joined her in heaven. That "accidental" date would be cancelled. It would be more painful than the hole in his heart. Just knowing that he was enjoying himself while she wasn't here with him made him sick to his stomach, and made him feel guilty.  
  
He cried out to her, "Jamie, I can't do this without you! I can't live like this anymore! I can never love again! No one will ever take your place! No one can ever have my love as you did! I still love you! I miss you, Jamie! Why did you have to leave me here? God, why couldn't you have taken me instead of her?" In the middle of his curses and questions, a wonderful whisper of wind quieted the pain. Jamie said to him in the breeze, "Landon, I love you, but you must move on. Keep loving me, but do not neglect those that will love you in the future. Everything will be alright. I am watching over you. I love you."  
  
"No Jamie, don't leave me again! Stay with me! Please!" "I love you, Landon, but you must move on, move on, move on..." Her voice faded into silence.  
  
Landon closed his eyes and knew in his heart that Jamie was right. The last teardrop rolled down his cheek, and he decided to keep the date with Kathryn. Nothing would replace Jamie, but someone new could come into his life, and he wasn't going to have to accept them. 


End file.
